Cocktail fans will quench their thirst for knowledge with this mammoth, authoritative and illuminating guide, written with great wit and astounding scholarship by James Beard Award-winner David Wondrich (Imbibe!) and co-editor Noah Rothbaum (The Business of Spirits). This lavishly designed reference book gives readers the origin story, evolution and recipe for hundreds of cocktails, along with biographies of bartenders and mixologists; histories of spirits, mixology cultures, tools and terms.
This international companion encourages readers to happily lose themselves as one fascinating entry cross-references another. Under "Harvey Wallbanger," readers will find its racy origin, recipe and a link to creator Donato "Duke" Antone, who ran a heroin ring while bartending. Readers never know where they'll end up, but it will always be entertaining and enlightening. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant